An 18-year-old Burger King employee from North Carolina was allegedly "prepared for death," with officials saying that he had already accepted the idea of dying, as he planned a New Year's Eve attack on a local grocery store and a fast-food restaurant using hammers and knives.
Christian Sturdivant, 18, was arrested and charged after authorities accused him of trying to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Russ Ferguson said. Sturdivant is from Mint Hill, a small town just outside Charlotte, North Carolina. The FBI's Charlotte field office shared the news publicly in a social media post announcing the arrest.
Sinister Plot Foiled
"He was preparing for jihad and innocent people were going to die," said Ferguson of the suspect, describing the would-be attack as "very well-planned." Sturdivant's plans were foiled after he communicated online with two undercover law enforcement agents, mistakenly believing they were collaborators linked to ISIS, according to prosecutors.
In one message, Sturdivant told an agent: "I'm prepared for death."
Ferguson said Sturdivant had allegedly armed himself with a Kevlar vest, knives, and hammers, and planned to strike when his chosen locations were packed with people getting ready to ring in 2026.
Authorities later found two knives and two hammers hidden under his bed, along with a handwritten manifesto in which prosecutors say he laid out his plans for the attack.
The suspect's writings showed he was deliberately targeting Jewish people, Christians, and members of the LGBTQ community, according to Ferguson.
Timely Interruption
FBI special agent in charge James Barnacle said Sturdivant had "pledged himself to ISIS and committed himself to killing Americans on New Year's Eve," describing the alleged intent as both deliberate and deeply troubling. The 18-year-old now faces a single charge of attempting to provide material support to ISIS.
If convicted, he could spend up to 20 years in prison. Sturdivant appeared in federal court in Charlotte on Friday morning, where a judge ordered that he remain in custody without bail.
Barnacle also revealed that Sturdivant had come to the FBI's attention years earlier. In 2020, when he was just 14, authorities began investigating after he allegedly talked about attacking his neighbors with knives and hammers. His grandfather intervened at the time, stopping him before anyone was hurt. Sturdivant was then placed in treatment and removed from social media, Barnacle said.
An attorney representing Sturdivant did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.
The arrest comes against the backdrop of last year's ISIS-inspired truck attack in New Orleans, carried out by Shamsud-Din Jabbar, which left 14 people dead and 57 injured on Bourbon Street as New Year's Eve celebrations were coming to an end — a tragedy that continues to underscore the stakes of such investigations.
